Arts & Humanities Initiative

The Arts and Humanities Initiative assists Internet2 members in enabling and advancing collaborations between high performance networking technologies and applications in the arts and humanities.

Some focuses of this initiative include enabling collaborative live performances, master classes, and remote auditions in the performing arts.
Outreach is underway to the museum and library community, film departments, and language instruction centers.
Partnerships have been formed with vendors to foster development in these arenas, and active working groups are addressing relevant issues in arts and humanities applications over Internet2.

LOLA

One of the primary tools the Arts & Humanities Initiative uses is LOLA, a Low Latency audio and videoconferencing technology that enables real-time, simultaneous, live musical performances across long distances. This technology is made possible by the Internet2 Innovation Platform, a 100 gigabit network connecting advanced research and education networks. Click the Past Events tab to see ways artists have used LOLA technology.

LOLA in 2013

The fourth European Network Performing Arts Production workshop was hosted by the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw) with local technical support provided by ACOnet, the Austrian National Research and Education Network (NREN) on March 12-14, 2013, in Vienna, Austria. As with the previous European events, the workshop was coordinated by TERENA and Internet2, with additional technical expertise provided by GARR, the Italian NREN, CESCA, which manages the regional network in Catalonia (Anella Cientifica) and mdw. It was a mix of hands-on audio/video production techniques and presentations of networking aspects of producing high quality transmissions of various Performing Arts. View the agenda, or learn more about logistics and registration

Manhattan School of Music (MSM), an Internet2 member, is now hosting Internet2 staff offices and videoconferencing facilities in its Anderson Hall. This collaboration builds on cultural programming with MSM's Global Conservatory, and augments New York-based activities, including MANLAN support.

"Given Manhattan School of Music's prominence at the intersection of advanced networking and cultural programming, we see aligning staff facilities as a strategic opportunity for growth." said Ann Doyle, Internet2 Global and Cultural Programs. Christianne Orto, Associate Dean & Director at Manhattan School of Music adds,” We look forward to welcoming Internet2 to the Manhattan School of Music community. This partnership establishes a New York-Metropolitan-area hub that supports creative collaboration in advanced networking, arts and cultural applications, and global initiatives.”

University of Michigan Department of Dance Master Class for CERNET: On June 22, the University of Michigan Department of Dance, with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, presented a live master class for dignitaries in China to celebrate a new 10Gbps link between Internet2 and the Chinese Research and Education Network (CERNET). The live performance over the research and education networks was hosted at the James and Anne Duderstadt Center on the campus of the University of Michigan with technical support from the Computer Aided Engineering Network and the Duderstadt Center Video Studio teams. Learn more.

LOLA in 2012

Explore in depth the elements needed to do everything from simple one-on-one interactions to large-scale stage productions and distance learning via advanced networks. The workshop is designed for an audience of educators, technologists, administrators, deans, CIOs and all interested parties are invited to attend.

LOLA in 2011

Musicians Perform Together, Hundreds of Miles Apart: During the Internet2 Fall Member Meeting, Violinist Marjorie Bagley, from the University of North Carolina – Greensboro School of Music, Theatre and Dance, and Cellist Cheng-Hou Lee, from the Northern Illinois University School of Music demonstrated "LOLA" during a track session.The LOLA technology is a low latency, audio and videoconferencing technology that enables real-time, simultaneous, live musical performances across long distances over advanced research and education networks. The North Carolina Research and Education Network and the Illinois Century Network supported the demonstration. (Photo courtesy of Matthew S. Libera) Learn more!

LOLA in 2010

The International Symposium on Synchronous Distance Learning, October 5-6, is a virtual conference bringing together 4 primary sites--Manhattan School of Music (New York), Peabody Institute (Baltimore), Royal College of Music (London), and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory (Singapore)--and partner via Internet2. The event will be webcast, with papers and multimedia presentations featured online.The purpose of the symposium is to identify and develop strategies to establish synchronous distance learning as a viable means of teaching music to anyone in the world.Thomas Hampson, renowned baritone and educator will present the keynote address.

The third European Network Performing Arts Production workshop, June 15-17, 2011, was recently hosted by the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona with local technical support provided by RedIRIS, the Spanish National Research and Education Network (NREN), and CESCA, which manages the regional network in Catalonia (Anella Cientifica). As with the previous events, the workshop was coordinated by TERENA and Internet2, with additional technical expertise provided by GARR, the Italian NREN. Learn more about this event.

LOLA in 2010

The New World Symphony's new campus is at the intersection of music, architecture, education, technology, and new media. On Wednesday, January 26, the new campus will be the focus of a panel discussion on the planning and architecture of arts facilities. Preceding the panel discussion will be an in-depth interview with Frank Gehry about his designs and philosophy on designing such spaces. The Internet2 community is invited to view the netcast of this exciting event (Conference ID is 5889). Learn more.

The second international performing arts workshop was held 22-24 November in Paris. IRCAM, in collaboration with TERENA, RENATER, GARR and Internet2, were the workshop hosts. Full program information and other details are available on the workshop website.

Internet2 and the New World Symphony hosted a hands-on audio/video production workshop on 25-27 January, 2010, on the campus of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. Attendees explored in depth the
elements needed to do everything from simple one-on-one interactions to larger scale
stage productions, and participants gained hands-on experience
with codecs and network testing tools.

Workshop highlights included the first presentation of a fully
integrated, computerised audio and echo control system, and of LOLA – a
low latency audio/video system experiment on high-bandwidth networks.